He looked like a small forward out there, like a Chris Mullin shooter type. Sure he looked faster, but will he be too weak to take the hits against the bigger men? Lee always was in good shape, he was always able to play a lot of minutes. This weight doesn't look natural for him. Should he have at least put on some more muscle?

Lee is the type of forward who outworks his opponent on the glass and beats his man to the basket with clever moves. Less weight will do nothing but help him. Did you see his first quarter block last night? By slimming down, Lee might finally start being able to bust his ass on both ends of the floor.

And honestly, he's probably on a celebratory diet to party off the fact that this will be his first full NBA season NOT having to log big minutes at center. Lee's numbers might actually IMPROVE beyond his all-NBA season.

I would rather see Lee thinner and quicker than thicker and slower. If anything, Lee, now being thinner and also never being known as a great help defender, may be quicker on defensive rotations.

What I like...a lot...about this Warrior team are the versatility and balance of its roster. This team can play the faster transition game as well as the slow-down half-court game...and do well at both.

David Lee may, indeed, be a better player with less weight on his frame.

How do you see Bogut's 15-20 pound loss working out? Supposedly, Andrew, David, AND Draymond Green all lost a similar amount of weight but retained (or, in Green's case, gained) muscle mass. How does a quicker, healthier, lighter Bogut fit into the Warriors' movement towards a faster paced offense? The early word out of players and beat writers is that Bogut has taken it upon himself to push the break after a defensive rebound!

He'll never be Biedrins, in terms of wearing out opposing bigs with his cardio, but Bogut was made to sit 6 minutes into quarters last year. Now... Who knows, maybe he can run an entire 4th quarter?? What a huge advantage that would be!

How do you see Bogut's 15-20 pound loss working out? Supposedly, Andrew, David, AND Draymond Green all lost a similar amount of weight but retained (or, in Green's case, gained) muscle mass. How does a quicker, healthier, lighter Bogut fit into the Warriors' movement towards a faster paced offense? The early word out of players and beat writers is that Bogut has taken it upon himself to push the break after a defensive rebound!

He'll never be Biedrins, in terms of wearing out opposing bigs with his cardio, but Bogut was made to sit 6 minutes into quarters last year. Now... Who knows, maybe he can run an entire 4th quarter?? What a huge advantage that would be!

I cannot help but think about Rik Smits and how his coaches had asked him to put on weight so that he could supposedly better battle the larger-framed centers of his era. Larry Brown then gets hired to coach the Pacers and immediately advised Rik Smits to lose weight, get quicker, and run the floor faster so that he, Smits, could beat his opponent down the floor as he, Smits, established himself on the low block on the offensive end of the floor. I see Andrew Bogut being able to do something similar. Also, with less weight on his frame, Bogut will be putting less pressure on his feet/ankles. I really like the thought of a thinner Bogut and a thinner Lee, too. Add Green to the mix, and all of a sudden the Warriors now have an even more athletic front court.

Biedrens...sigh...another Chris Mullin draft pick who never developed. I really had high hopes for Biedrens, and he, Biedrens, did look like he would become a solid double-double player; however, when Mullin panicked and signed Adonal David Foyle to the big contract extension, Biedrens saw how mediocrity can be handsomely rewarded and then never put in the time to improve his game.

This new iteration of the Warriors has a core group of young players who are hungry, have talent, and can only be derailed by injuries.

@ migs, Lee is a total gym rat. He, Maggette, and Richard Jefferson would start (with Mully and Richmond) on the all-time gym rat Warriors team. David Lee puts in hella work.

@ uptempo, oh come now. You can't blame Mullin for anything that happened with Biedrins. The entire fan base begged to resign him and $9 million per is easy for a starting center. The blame for Biedrins' disregarding his basketball career lays squarely on HIS shoulders, and nobody else.

32 wrote:@ migs, Lee is a total gym rat. He, Maggette, and Richard Jefferson would start (with Mully and Richmond) on the all-time gym rat Warriors team. David Lee puts in hella work.

@ uptempo, oh come now. You can't blame Mullin for anything that happened with Biedrins. The entire fan base begged to resign him and $9 million per is easy for a starting center. The blame for Biedrins' disregarding his basketball career lays squarely on HIS shoulders, and nobody else.

32, I agree with you on David Lee's work ethic.

Work ethic and leadership were destroyed on this Warrior team when Mullin panicked and gave Foyle the big contract extension. I had posted on this topic a few times over the past few years. Foyle came into the league with more talent than Ben Wallace, but without any desire to work hard and to improve his game. On a young roster, when players see a no-hustle/no-effort guy like Foyle getting the big contract, it becomes a cancer that affects the chemistry of the entire roster. I blame Biedrens, himself, a player whom I had badly wanted to see excel, for his lack of development; however, it was Mullin who had drafted him, Biedrens, and it was Mullin who had hired the coaches who did not develop the kid, and most damning of all, it was Mullin who had rewarded Foyle for his no-hustle/no-effort by giving Foyle the big contract which set the bad example for Biedrens to follow.

migya wrote:Lee needs to get leaner. He looks like he doesn't workout much. Curry had gotten noticeably leaner over the past three eyars and it has made him faster and a better athlete.

You're joking right? He was outstanding tonight. You can tell how much quicker he is out there.

I mean muscle and physique. He runs well, the biggest must in basketball, but as a big he should be more muscled, no need to be an Anthony Mason. It would make him tougher and get him to pound inside better on both ends.

It's only been 2 games, but Lee looks like he's easy to be pushed around due to his weight loss. His scoring is good, but his rebounding is down. I mean he was never fat in the first place. His injury had nothing to do with being out of shape, he simply landed on the wrong side. He could have just lost half of what he lost, 10 pounds instead of 20. I think Bogut looked more intimidating when he had more weight on , like in the Denver series. But he probably can't afford it for health reasons.

Stairway Man wrote:It's only been 2 games, but Lee looks like he's easy to be pushed around due to his weight loss. His scoring is good, but his rebounding is down. I mean he was never fat in the first place. His injury had nothing to do with being out of shape, he simply landed on the wrong side. He could have just lost half of what he lost, 10 pounds instead of 20. I think Bogut looked more intimidating when he had more weight on , like in the Denver series. But he probably can't afford it for health reasons.

Most power forwards will get pushed around by Blake Griffin.

What David Lee now has is more quickness, and that will only help him as he battles against bigger and more bulkier power forwards.

Bogut is now able to beat his man to the block on both offense as well as on defense.

I prefer to see both of our big men to be able to "out-quick" opposing big men.

Let's see how this plays out during the season and in the playoffs (it is a nice feeling to say write that last word with confidence!).

With the addition of Iguodala, the emergence of Thompson, the ascension of Curry, and the health of Bogut, Lee has found himself playing the role of the ideal teammate surrendering offensive touches for the sake of chemistry.

You knew a full year next to Bogut would ebb his rebound totals slightly; instead of one or the other averaging 12, they're both hovering around 9.

But Lee's defensive rebound percentage this year is his second highest as a Warrior. And his defensive rating continues to improve; he's sitting at 103 (down from a career-best 104 last year). I'll also remind everyone that Lee had a slow first month last year as well and turned it into an all-star campaign.

With Bogut in tow, I don't expect Lee to be an all-star - as he's not being used the way he was last year. But by season's end, Lee will sport a 16-9-3 line at over 50% from the field. That's a LOT better than most team's 3rd or 4th option.

he is a consistent player. He is no longer are top 2 important players, but i still consider him essential for our success (as I do with the other 5 big names). Unfortunately, we have been going south in the standings since Iggy went down